Name:
The Secret Life of Bees: Discussion Questions Chapters 4 & 5
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Be sure to give
thorough answers using specific facts and details from the novel.
1. In chapter two, Lily has an epiphany (a sudden insight or realization into the reality of
something), “Lily Melissa Owens, your jar is open” (p.41). Explain the symbolism of Lily’s
realization. What does it mean in relation to her life, and explain how it begins the
comparison of bees to Lily’s life.
2. Discuss Lily and Rosaleen’s arrival at the Boatwright home, and compare/contrast their
reactions.
Lily Rosaleen
3. Discuss the Boatwright women and how they can be compared to the epigraph for
chapter 4. The epigraph is: “Honeybees are social insects and live in colonies. Each colony
is a family unit, comprising a single, egg-laying female or queen and her many sterile
daughters called workers. The workers cooperate in the food-gathering, nest-building and
rearing the offspring. Males are reared only at the times of year when their presence is
required.”
-Bees of the World
4. Discuss Lily’s explanation of her and Rosaleen’s arrival in Tiburon, and explain the
Boatwrights’ individual reactions to their arrival.
